Dance Society produces the goods
The South African Society for the Advancement of Dancing has done it again, only this time even better.

About SASAD“We are a non profit organization. We are a group of dancing teachers who do this for nothing- we do not get paid and any money raised is pumped back into more dance education and bursaries for dancers etc. The dance congress is an educational program. We take the money raised in previous congress and bring in tutors from all over SA and International to share their expertise and experiences with all dancers and teachers who want to attend. We do charge for people to take part and e do offer bursaries to talented kids who can dance. This money charged pays for the tutors dance fee, flights, accommodation, food, transport, venues etc.”
From the 29 – 31st March, the SASAD will be hosting a Dance Congress at Danville Girls High School in Durban North, which will draw tutors and students from all points of the globe, to come together and learn from each other. This prestigious event has grown from strength to strength, and many overseas artists and choreographers are keen to come and share with the students their knowledge of the various forms of dance that they specialise in. The congress is open for students from as young as 5years of age.
There are nine dance disciplines that the students can participate in, namely, Ballet, Jazz, Street Jazz, African Contemporary, Release Technique, Tap, Hip Hop and Musical Theatre.
The Ballet classes will be tutored by Jessica Kidwell (Junior levels) and Annebelle Wahl (Seniors levels, Pointe and Repertoire classes).
Jessica Kidwell was locally trained in Durban and went on to dance for PACT. She relocated to the UK in 1998 where I spent 8 years training the students at the Royal Ballet School in London specializing in core stability and strength as well as flexibility and fitness. In 2010 Jessica was approached to train the ‘Billy Elliots’ for the West End Musical of ‘Billy Elliot’ in London’s West End.
Annebelle Wahl furthered her Dance teaching studies in London for 3 years at The College of the Royal Academy of Dance. She is currently teaching Ballet, Modern and National dance at her own Studio in Roodepoort, Gauteng, as well as acting as an approved Tutor and facilitator for the Royal Academy of Dance Faculty of Education, and Examiner for the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing, National Faculty , and Adjudicator for dance competitions and Festivals nationally.
Lisa Wilson will be taking the Contemporary classes. Lisa is a dance educator, performer and choreographer from Kingston, Jamaica. She is a newcomer to the South African arts scene having only been recently appointed lecturer and course convener at the School of Dance, University of Cape Town. Lisa holds a Bachelor Fine Arts in Dance from Wesley Institute, Australia and a Master of Education in Dance from the University of Exeter, UK. She is a multi-faceted artist with over 20years of professional experience in the performing arts. She is a versatile dance teacher who has led dance workshops across the world. Lisa loves teaching dance and is a firm believer in the power of dance and the arts, to transform mind, body and soul.
We are most excited to have the services of the highly acclaimed Caitlin Gray, born in New York City, who will be conducting the Street Jazz classes. She has a very diverse background, which includes dance, gymnastic and circus arts. She has taught master classes all over the USA and the World.
Caitlin recently choreographed the NYC and Sydney premieres of “the Great Gatsby”, directed by Baz Lurhmann. He has choreographed for “reckless”, “Twilight”, “Burlesque”. She has many more exciting works behind her name.
Ashley Searle will be taking the Musical Theatre classes and the Junior Jazz Classes. Ashley has become a popular choice for inspirational dance workshops not only for his theatrical attitude to dance and performance, but also for his charm and charisma with a crowd. His company, Follow Spot Productions, has flourished, producing shows performed all over South Africa and the world, to sold out audiences. At present he is performing in Perth.
Maxwell Rani will be conducting the African Contemporary classes, which will bridge the gap for students who are looking to break into the local world of dance, which more often than not includes a form of African dance. He is the founder and creator of the Intsika technique. He has taught all over Europe, USA, China, Canada. Maxwell holds a masters Degree in dance and is a lecturer at the University Of Cape Town School Of Dance.
Kerry Domoney will be taking the Tap classes. Kerry is the Owner and Director of Rhythm Productions Dance Centre, creative director of Grace Dance Company, principal and teacher of dance training in modern, tap, contemporary dance and technique, director and principal of teachers training and consultant to free lance teachers.
The local Hip Hop fraternity has not been left out, as we have secured the services of Jason Sisam. Jason has performed National HipHop Championships at Grand West Arena, SunCity and in Germany.where he received numerous accolades. He has travelled to New York to attend Summer Dance Intensive workshops and California to attend the Debbie Allen Academy where he took classes in Ballet,jazz,hiphop, modern, tap and African dance. At the North American Dance Championships, he won 3 gold medals. He has choreographed for the Broadway show, “Razzle Dazzle” At present he is the Dance Choreographer for”District”, a new Cape Town based boy band signed by New York music label D-Street Media Group. Jason has “The Sky is the Limit” attitude and is driven by his passion for dance!! He is from Cape Town and is the Founder & Creative Director of DHONAA Productions™.
Nicola Haskins will be taking Release Technique. She has a degree in Drama and General Psychology and an Honours degree with Distinction in Drama from Rhodes University. Nicola specialised in Physical Theatre, Dance Culture and Education, Mime, Choreography and Theatre Studies. She is a resident performer, choreographer and educator with the First Physical Theatre Company.
Nicola has performed for choreographers such as PJ Sabbagha and Dada Masilo. She has performed in France, Italy, Belgium, Luxemborg Germany and Austria. She runs her own CompanyThe MatchboxTheatre Collective. At present she is touring with Dada Masilo on her “Swan Lake” Production. The ‘release technique’ describes movements which follow the natural lines and movements of the body. These techniques are not choreographed, and involve the movements that the body would make such as fainting, stretching, exhaling, etc.
This Dance Congress is open to all teachers and students of dance, and enquiries can be forwarded to:
Des 082 5631995082 5631995, or Cathy 0823795159
0823795159 or email: sasadinfo@gmail.com.